James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, has announced that the Annenberg Foundation, beginning in 1996, will contribute $1 million to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board to establish an endowment for the Center for the Book.
"Through his foundation, Ambassador Annenberg is making this generous contribution to honor Librarian of Congress Emeritus Daniel J. Boorstin, who created the Center for the Book in 1977," said Dr. Billington. "The endowment will be named for Dr. Boorstin and his wife, Ruth F. Boorstin, recognizing and honoring Daniel Boorstin's unique contributions to this institution by giving permanence to this distinctive creation of the Boorstin era."
"Of course I am thrilled," said John Y. Cole, who has directed the center since its creation. "But this prospect for the future does not mean instant prosperity for the center. We still need to raise about $100,000 a year for program and operating expenses. I will be reminding individual and corporate donors, past and potential, of this continuing short-term need as I write this year's solicitation letters," he added.
The Center for the Book uses all media to promote books, reading and libraries. Through conferences and publications it also encourages the study of the history of books and print culture. The center's influence has grown steadily since 1977, and it now reaches across the nation through a network of 29 affiliated state centers. In recent years, it has enlisted 128 national civic and educational organizations as reading promotion partners.
In 1993 the Center for the Book's principal corporate sponsors were Encyclopaedia Britannica, McGraw-Hill, Thomson Newspapers, the H.W. Wilson Foundation, Paramount Publications, John Wiley & Sons, HarperCollins, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, World Book Educational Products, Reed Reference Publishing, Random House, Pizza Hut, CBS Television and Hearst Books. In all, 40 corporations and more than 200 individuals made contributions to support the center and its work. For information about opportunities to sponsor projects of the Center for the Book or any of its 29 affiliated state centers, write or call the Center for the Book, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-8200, telephone (202) 707-5221.
CULTURAL FORUM OF THE STATES. On Feb. 1 the Center for the Book hosted a meeting of the Cultural Forum of the States, a group of representatives of cultural agencies from throughout the nation. Conference convener Sondra Myers, formerly cultural adviser to the governor of Pennsylvania and now special assistant to Sheldon Hackney, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, described her hopes for the group and the kinds of contributions it could make at both the state and national levels. Regarding the Center for the Book and its nationwide efforts to raise visibility for book, reading and library activities, she cited Nebraska as a model, primarily because of the close working relationship between the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Center for the Book.
ADULT LITERARY SYMPOSIUM. On Feb. 3, the Center for the Book and the National Center on Adult Literacy sponsored a Literacy Policy Forum on "Interpreting the National Adult Literary Survey" (see following story).
LC HISTORY: COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. On Feb. 17 John Cole presented a talk to the Copyright Society of New England, a chapter of the Copyright Society, U.S.A. His topic was the history and importance of copyright deposit at the Library of Congress.
Dr. Cole pointed out that in the United States the practice of depositing, in a single location, copies of items registered for copyright protection has served two purposes: deposit for record, whereby the item, or deposit, is kept as legal evidence of copyright registration; and deposit for use, whereby it is kept for library use and the enrichment of library collections. The history of the Library of Congress and that of most national libraries is firmly linked to the second purpose, since copyright deposit for use was the method by which the Library, under the direction of Ainsworth Rand Spofford, Librarian of Congress 1864-1897, accumulated a national collection of books, maps, music, photographs and other materials that comprehensively reflected American life.
The copyright law of 1870 centralized all U.S. copyright registration and deposit activities at the Library of Congress. The law was primarily a result of Spofford's behind-the-scenes advocacy, aided by the skillful legislative leadership of Rep. Thomas A. Jenckes (R-R.I.).
Before 1870, copyright registration and deposit were functions of several government departments, including the Library itself in 1846-1859 and after 1865. By establishing a central registration system for copyright and by ensuring a constant flow of copyright deposits into the Library of Congress, (then located in the U.S. Capitol), the 1870 law permanently altered the nature of both the business of copyright and the Library.
The law, in effect, established the Library of Congress as the national library. In one pen stroke, LC gained access to much of the nation's publishing output, insurance of the steady growth of its collections at a minimum cost, a role in stimulating American creativity and a unique national role and responsibility.
Although essential to the growth and prestige of the Library, copyright deposit also created serious problems. Spofford was overwhelmed by the never-ending flow of deposits into his cramped Library. He cried to Congress for help almost immediately, and his 1871 annual report launched a 15-year struggle for an appropriation for a separate building (today's Jefferson Building), which was finally opened in 1897.
As the mountains of books, maps, music, prints and photographs grew around him in the Capitol Building, Spofford was unable to devote much time to other essential Library functions. By 1896 the administration of the copyright law consumed more than 75 percent of his time and the full-time efforts of 26 of the Library's 42 employees.
By 1897 more than 40 percent of the Library's 840,000 books and 90 percent of its map, music and graphic arts collections had been acquired through copyright deposit. Today, copyright deposit is still one of the Library's major acquisitions sources, but in the late 19th century it played a crucial role in the development of the institution.
